Standing on a soapbox on the corner, is an alleged brother
Dressed in blue and black dashikis or green, red and black dashikis
And spouting the news that the revolution is coming and you’d better get ready
Sorta-like the end of the world is coming
I saw recent commercials that said
“Unfortunately, the world is just going to drag on and on”
Intro to ‘Brother’ Gil Scott Heron (A New Black Poet: Small Talk at 125th & Lenox. 1971)
The rancid pollution of geopolitics has seemingly poisoned the well of community beyond repair.
As we head into a time of local elections we must not forget that politics is not an end in itself, but a means. Currently, politics serves as a single powerful weapon with which the sordid and powerful control both the horizontal and the vertical. The ability of individuals to gather, communicate and organise has over time been stripped away by social media. Of course the notion that social media was created to benefit human interaction is for the birds. Politics goes hand-in-hand with big business. Politics has no money or influence of its own, it instead draws upon us -the taxpayer, and global businesses with vested interests in the status quo; the status quo being war, unstable markets, poverty and nations divided. The platforms (the so called digital town squares) that could have served as the soapbox for revolution have instead played out as they were intended: a political cesspit in which society picks at its own scabs until they bleed.
So how are the things that benefit society paid for? Tax of course. And who pays the most in tax? The rich; so of course we don’t want to upset them… do we? After all, they may leave and take their riches with them. You know, like Sir James Dyson, who persuaded 52% of the country to vote for Brexit and then promptly moved his business headquarters to the ‘legal low-tax jurisdiction’ of Singapore, allowing him to pay UK tax of less than 1%. Or Sir Jim Ratcliffe of Manchester Football Club, who is of the opinion that the “UK has been colonised by immigrants”, whilst living as an immigrant in Monaco, reportedly allowing him to avoid approximately four billion in UK tax. Meanwhile “The [Manchester United] club website lists just six members of the first-team squad who were born in England and aren’t currently out on loan. Tom Heaton, Harry Maguire, Luke Shaw, Ayden Heaven, Mason Mount and Kobbie Mainoo are the players in question.The remainder of the team is made up of non-Brits…” Daily Express 12th February 2026
Whilst Marcus Rashford, a Man U player currently on loan, is worth 40million and pays a 45% tax rate Sir Jim Ratcliffe, his boss, is worth 17billion and pays a 0% tax rate. So, who is the patriot in this scenario? Compare the hardship of a man worth £17billion (or Dyson, according to The Times Rich List at 16.2billion: the richest man in the South West! – of where Singapore?) who pays zero tax against the hardship of the likes of you and I dear reader, working all the hours possible to draw in maybe £13k a year with no perks or benefits, if we are lucky, and having to hand back 20% to the government in tax. With these facts in mind, whose existence is more beneficial to the economic circumstances of this country?
‘But’ I hear you cry ‘this is just the politics of envy’!
After such a global rant I am going to turn the mirror inwards on the more local socio-economic and political situation to suggest that we do all have a part to play in building our society. Those who have the facility do not want to as they do not see it as their job, and because of this we must understand the role that we play in changing that viewpoint.
Every morning I go outside and litter pick the streets around where I live in an attempt to keep the place looking neat. Many people passing ask me if I am getting paid to do that, to which I answer ‘No’. Often this is followed by ‘oh, yr good you are!’ And ‘I hope people appreciate what you do for them’ as they walk off. Most mornings, next to one of the stone benches that artists John Barber, Keith Ackerman and myself created as part of a free community carving project over the course of a year (2022-23), I have to remove small piles of ripped up National Lottery Scratch cards and a heap of empty vodka, whiskey and gin bottles deposited overnight by the recently licensed Eden Supermarket. This scenario sends out two messages: to those who create the mess “it’s okay, go ahead, carry on someone will clean up behind you” (if they even think at all about what they are doing). The other message that goes out to those continually cleaning up the large amounts of rubbish left behind by the mess makers says “hard luck! It doesn’t matter how hard you work you are always going to end up clearing up behind everyone else.”
But of course, in a meritocracy if you don’t work hard enough then you will not, and do not deserve, to succeed. Hmmm!
NB: Whilst the small area of grass on Tunstall Road has improved greatly since our sculptural intervention (or architectural acupuncture), it has been set back somewhat since the granting of a late license to the aforementioned cheap booze establishment.
Recently I had a conversation with The National Lottery Community Fund regarding the idea of a project that would set up some more creative projects in this community whilst addressing the subject of litter picking and creating a community gardening group. The response from The National Lottery was that there was no clear rationale for it from within the community. Despite repeated doorstep and digital surveys, the distribution of flyers within the community and advertising through this very organ (South Leeds Life), I have received no responses that suggest any interest in the idea. Sadly, The National Lottery representative’s opinion -that there is no apparent call for it- seems to have been borne out by the response, or lack thereof. It would seem that the only view of the future available, comes from the purchase of lottery tickets and scratch cards in the hope of a -very unlikely- big win that would change an individual’s personal fortunes. To quote a line from the late comedian Sean Hughes’ stand-up routine at the Reading Festival back in ’96, shortly after The National Lottery’ was brought in, “I will only start playing the lottery when they start allowing us to pay our tax in losing tickets.” And there it is, another form of taxation on the poor; I guarantee that Sir Jim of Monaco and Sir James of Singapore are not queuing to buy lottery tickets and scratch cards in their local Poundland on a daily basis.
In relation to the above, I am also drawn back to a comment on Twitter about a mural for South Leeds a few years ago in which someone under the name @thereal_landlord commented about South Leeds that “they don’t need art around there they need jobs” as though there is some kind of correlation between these two factors of life. Whilst I disagreed with all of the sentiments that he expressed in the conversation, I do agree, albeit unwillingly, with The National Lottery representative that there has to be a desire for it to happen. With these two, very disparate comments in mind it seems likely that state funded cultural related activities will remain the province of the more affluent areas.
NB: I continue to work with another artist on designs for the site, but contested by the real landlord.
Finally, one option open to me to try and get the litter related project up and running through ‘The National Lottery’ was to set up a bank account for the Garnet’s and Oakley’s Tenants and Residents Association (GO TaRA) and apply, minus the art aspect, through that. Whilst initially tempted, I then had to consider the idea of setting up yet another CIC bank account, and how I would manage that alongside what I already do as an artist. I considered the idea that through this I may be able to find the funding to enable core members of the GO TaRA team to be paid for their community litter picking and hygiene activities, as opposed to doing it for free as currently happens. Having considered the amount of voluntary work that I would have to do relating to this I have decided not to pursue the idea any further, and instead mothball the GO TaRA due to insufficient interest in the monthly meetings and the previously mentioned ideas.
I shall however be continuing to operate as an artist within the community, as always providing free events and exhibitions, utilising the enthusiasm that I have for the subject that I have been engaged with since roughly the age of five, and you are welcome to continue joining us for these things.
With regards to the GO TaRA community ideas:
To set this in motion again I will need the following:
- A treasurer (voluntary) to assist myself and the secretary (also volunteers)
- A minimum of three core members, from within the community, prepared to attend monthly meetings throughout the year with a view to being able to put forward an application to The National Lottery to fund the voluntary work aspect within the community by community members.
My door remains open, and the key is b.davies3@icloud.com Just contact me if you feel like you want to get started in earnest on such a venture
Until then I leave you with the words of R.E.M
“It’s the end of the world as we know it, and I feel fine”
